By the end of his first game action in nearly two weeks, Wright had squeezed in five plate appearances in the space of an hour, bringing him even closer to his goal of being ready for the season opener.

"I've been optimistic about Opening Day since I came back to St. Lucie and talked to the doctors and the trainers about the diagnosis," Wright said. "As I said yesterday, it's kind of the same thing today, just another step closer. I'm still very optimistic."

Wright finished 1-for-5 with a run scored, his comfort level rising with each at-bat. Though he didn't play the field, simply playing in the games represented yet another big step forward for the Mets captain.

"I would not be surprised if David Wright is there on Opening Day," manager Terry Collins said.

No minor-league games are scheduled for Wednesday though Wright will continue to work out and do drills. He hopes to play again Thursday and Friday. He's open to playing the remainder of his spring games in the minors. That way, if he's forced to start the year on the disabled list, the Mets could backdate the move. He would be allowed to come off on April 6 as opposed to April 15.

"I don't want to start the year on the DL obviously," Wright said. "But if that's the worst-case scenario, it should be five days instead of the whatever days.

"Hopefully, that's not the discussion."

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